May 3, 2012
Re-Examining Whitney Houston’s Battles With Substance Abuse In Light Of Bobby Brown’s ‘Today’ Interview
Yesterday, we wrote in detail about Bobby Brown’s first interview since the death of his ex-wife Whitney Houston.
The interview aired this morning on ‘Today’, with Bobby telling Matt Lauer that he wasn’t to blame for the singer’s early demise, and that he didn’t get her hooked on drugs.
When Matt asked him if Whitney was the victim and if he was behind her drug use, Bobby said: “No, that’s not true. I didn’t get high before I met Whitney. No, I- I — I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn’t the one that got Whitney on drugs at all.”
And he added that Whitney was dabbling in illegal substances “way, way before,” they got together.
We spoke to Richard Taite, President and CEO of Cliffside Malibu, to get his perspective on Bobby’s claims, and why, after several trips to rehab, Whitney still continued to dabble in illegal drugs.
Here’s out interview with him…
Celebzter: Bobby says he wasn’t to blame for Whitney’s drug problems, and he only took drugs once he got together with her. Is this atypical for someone in a relationship to start using if their partner is?
Richard: It is actually common for someone in a relationship to start using if the other person does, and frankly I remember while watching all the interviews of her inner circle immediately after her passing, her family actually inferred the same thing: that she didn’t start using drugs when she got together with Bobby; that she was already dabbling in cocaine prior to meeting him.
Celebzter: And does it escalate both of their habits because they are both doing it?
Richard: Yes, their habits can escalate. Any time you have a connection with someone and you become dependent together, it has the potential to dramatically increase their usage because they are not hiding it from one another, they are using together. If you include the sexual component on top of it, which was most certainly there, that’s going to escalate the usage as well.
Celebzter: There must be very little chance of getting sober if you have a partner who is not?
Richard: If you have a partner who is using and you are trying to stay sober and if you don’t have the tools to stay sober then yes, you are going to ultimately lose that struggle. But if you have two people who end up in treatment together and they are both working to stay sober it can actually be a supportive environment. However, if both get treatment and one person relapses they endanger the other person.
Celebzter: What do you recommend in this situation?
Richard: When both people in a relationship are abusing drugs or alcohol, then both have to seek treatment concurrently, and don’t leave until their treatment complete.
Celebzter: In terms of addiction, Whitney checked in rehab several times, but she never managed to stay clean. Is these circumstances, is it because the person just doesn’t want to beat their addiction or is it a failure on the part of them not taking rehab seriously? Or perhaps the rehab wasn’t intensive enough?
Richard: I don’t know where Whitney sought rehab, so I don’t know whether she got top-notch treatment or not. She checked in several times, but she never stayed until she reached what we call the Maintenance stage, where she would have finally gotten to a point where she could transcend the struggle and it was harder to pick up a drink or a drug than it was not to. That’s the goal with treatment: where it’s harder to get loaded than it is to stay clean; where there is no struggle and the drugs don’t have a hold over you any longer. This is something that can happen easily, but not in 30 days based on what some insurance company says. Sometimes you just have to be willing to do what it takes in order to transcend that old damaging destructive behavior. If you are like her and have been using for 20 to 25 years, then what’s 3 or 4 months in order to get your life back, so you can spend the remainder of your life in the magnificence of who you are and live long enough to enjoy your children.
I believe we are the most intensive treatment facility in the world, but there are times, depending on where a person is at, that in 30 days I can’t take you and move you to the place of transcending the struggle so that you can be your best self. If we can’t do this and somebody else promises you they can, they are lying to you. The reality is that we have 28 and 30 day rehab because initially insurance companies would only pay for 28 to 30 days. But how silly is it that this tradition of 30 day treatment is based upon some blood sucking insurance company who couldn’t care less about your wellbeing instead of what the science dictates. Most people require 90 days of treatment depending on where they are at emotionally, the amount and timeframe of usage, the trauma involved, and so forth. So when people say they put their best foot forward in a treatment center and they say, “I’ve been to rehab, I left after 30 days, I finished my commitment”, well basically what you are saying is “I’m not willing to do what it takes to be successful and get my life back.” Insurance companies are there to make money. They don’t care about you. In most cases 30 days will not produce long-lasting behavioral change. That’s just the simple truth.
